A military prison is a prison operated by the military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime. Thus, military prisons are of two types: penal, for punishing and attempting to reform members of the military who have committed an offense, and confinement-oriented, where captured enemy combatants are confined for military reasons until hostilities cease.

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Most militaries have some sort of military police unit operating at the divisional level or below to perform many of the same functions as civilian police, from traffic-control to the arrest of violent offenders and the supervision of detainees and prisoners-of-war.

The Canadian Forces have one military prison, the Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks (CFSPDB) (colloquially known as Club Ed), located at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton. Canadian Forces personnel who are convicted by military courts and receive a sentence of 14 days or more are incarcerated at CFSPDB. Men, although in the same prison, are kept separate from women. The prison is maintained and controlled by the Canadian Forces Military Police, although NCOs from various branches of the Canadian Forces serve at the prison as staff. Service personnel who are convicted of less serious offences are considered to be in "detention", and undergo a strict military routine aimed at rehabilitation for their return to regular military service, whereas personnel convicted of more serious offences are considered to be in "prison" and upon completion of their sentence they are released from the military. Serious offenders with sentences longer than two years are transferred to the Canadian federal prison system after serving 729 days, to complete their sentence in the civilian prison system, followed by release from the Canadian Forces. Any service personnel serving a sentence of 14 days or less are held in local base Military Police Detachment cells at the various Canadian Forces Bases within Canada.[2]

The United Kingdom has one military correctional facility. (It has no establishments that would be considered prisons.) The Military Corrective Training Centre (colloquially known as the Glasshouse after the former military prison in Aldershot), in the town of Colchester, is where non-commissioned servicemen and women who are convicted by military courts and sentenced to more than 28 days, but less than three years, will be incarcerated. Women, although in the same prison, are kept separate from men. The facility is maintained and controlled by the British Army's Military Provost Staff (Adjutant General's Corps). More serious offenders with longer sentences are transferred to HM Prison Service as part of their dishonourable discharge. There are three categories of prisoner:

The United States military's equivalent to the county jail, in the sense of "holding area" or "place of brief incarceration for petty crimes," is known colloquially as the guardhouse or stockade by the army and air forces and the brig by naval and marine forces. U.S. military forces currently maintain several regional prisoner holding facilities in the U.S.; see list of U.S. military prisons for names and locations.

Today’s American military prison systems are designed to house criminals who commit an offense while holding the job title of being in a branch of the military. Military prisons have a tier system that is based on the length of a prisoner’s sentence. For instance, the Navy uses three levels of incarceration. Tier I prisoners have been sentenced up to one year and are housed at a waterfront brig, an afloat brig, correctional custody units (CCU) and pre-trial confinement facilities [3] Tier II prisoners are transferred to one of the Navy’s two consolidated brigs with sentences of up to 10 years. Lastly, female prisoners serve their time apart from men at a facility called NAVCONBRIG Miramar to better facilitate the rehabilitative process; while military prisoners with sentences over 10 years or who are sentenced to death are held at the U.S. disciplinary barracks.[4] Military prisons are a little different from typical American prisons because American prisons are characterized by the type of security they have. These different levels of security have to do with the type of criminals in the facility. Minimum security facilities typically have criminals convicted of white collar crimes, or low-level drug offenses, while medium and maximum-security prisons house more serious offenders that committed more violent crimes.[5]

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics breaks down military prisoners by five different military branches. This data showed 829 prisoners from the army, 396 prisoners from the marine corps, 268 prisoners from the navy, 21 prisoners from the coast guard, and 380 prisoners from the air force.[6] 44 of these prisoners were officers in the military. A significant number of these prisoners are males, with only 54 being female.[7] A plurality were Caucasian, followed by African American and Hispanics.[8] Most of the crimes committed by military prisoners are violent offenses such as murder and rape. The next most frequent crime committed by military prisoners are drug offenses and then property offenses such as theft. There are a small percentage of other crimes committed, such as public order offenses and military offenses.[9] Military offense examples are disrespect, insubordination, and false offense statements. The most recent data from 2007 of military prisoners has shown a small drop from 1,944 prisoners in 2006 to 1,794 in 2007.

The Geneva Conventions provides an international protocol defining minimum requirements and safeguards for prisoners of war.

Prisoners are often kept in ad hoc camps near the battlefield, guarded by military police until they can be transferred to more permanent barracks for the duration of the conflict.

Treatment of prisoners-of-war has varied from age to age and nation to nation, the quality of conditions for prisoners often linked with the intensity of the conflict and the resources of the warring parties.

Military prisons and the treatment of military prisoners have often figured prominently in modern literature, cinema and even politics. In the 19th century, written accounts of the barbaric treatment accorded prisoners on both sides during the Napoleonic and Crimean wars helped lead to the founding of the Red Cross and the promulgation of the Geneva Conventions.

Some of the late-20th-century military novels of American writer W.E.B. Griffin make mention of the former Portsmouth Naval Prison facility. In Semper Fi, Book I in The Corps series, the main character, Cpl. Ken McCoy, finds himself assigned to a prisoner detail, which is riding on the same civilian train that McCoy is taking to his new post.